At a press conference the morning of March 23, the Boulder Police Department identified Arvada resident Ahmad Alissa, 21, as the suspect in the previous day’s mass shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder.
The shootings took place around 2:30 p.m. on March 22 at the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive. Ten victims have been identified, including Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51, who was the first officer to arrive on the scene.
Officers exchanged fire with the suspect, who sustained a leg wound, before he was taken into custody at 3:28 p.m. The last victim was removed from the scene at 1:30 a.m. on March 23 and the families of the victims had been notified by 3:59 a.m.
In addition to local, state and federal officials, about 20 Arvada police officers responded to the incident, according to APD Detective Public Relations Officer David Snelling.
Alissa was transported to a local hospital for his leg wound. He is expected to be subsequently transported to the Boulder County Jail. The Boulder Police Department said that no motive had been determined as of the morning of March 23.
Court records show that in 2017, Alissa was charged with assault and a driver’s license violation in separate incidents. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to a year and two months’ probation for the assault charge.
Alissa graduated from Arvada West High School in May 2018. He began attending the school in March 2015 and was a three-year member of Arvada West’s wrestling team, competing at the varsity level his senior year. Before attending Arvada West, Alissa spent part of his freshman year at Denver South High School, where he competed on the junior varsity wrestling team.
Alissa was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder in in relation to the King Soopers shooting on the morning of March 23.
“I am so sorry this incident happened,” said Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold on March 23. “We are going to do everything in our power to make sure this suspect has a thorough trial and we do a thorough investigation.”
The victims have been identified as Denny Strong, 20; Nevin Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Officer Eric Talley, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.